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I'm just going to have to blog in fits and bursts this spring.
1. Historically, S has been going swimming at the nearby Jewish Community Center. However, their pool recently failed to pass its inspection. Apparently this typically means the pool has cracks and is leaking water, which, if left unaddressed, can turn into a sinkhole beneath the pool that will then suck in any hapless swimmers when the concrete fails utterly. So the JCC is now fundraising for repairs, which are likely to cost bajillions of dollars and will take a while to realize. That's sent S back on the hunt for places to swim.
More historically than S's swimming history here, there were a couple of public swimming options in or near downtown Albany. One was a facility called The Bathhouse; I learned recently that there was a period where the rowing club held its winter training at The Bathhouse. One of the rowers who participated then said that it was possible to look down through some cracks in the floor where the ergs were stationed, and see the pool below.
The Bathhouse apparently closed a couple of years before we moved to Albany. At some point someone stole all of the deranged copper plumbing from it, because copper is valuable.
The other option had been a branch of the YMCA located in north Albany. It closed about 6 months after we moved to Albany, and got converted into recreation space for a middle school.
So the next-closest option for S is a YMCA in one of the suburban villages to the south of Albany. Basically, public pool access in Albany is terrible. The issue with the location to the south is the neverending one of transportation. It's possible to reach this branch of the Y by a combination of bus and walking, but it sounds like the expedition winds up requiring somewhere around 4-5 hours in total, just given the limited bus schedule. That's a large time commitment.
So instead S looked into a recent carshare option that has opened up here.
We've tried so many different car rental things over the years. I remember some particularly stressful occasions trying to use an hourly car rental program in Texas, where the provided gas card in the vehicle didn't work at the gas station and I don't think I ever got that extra gas money back. I mean, for the most part when I want to use a car out here, I wind up traveling out to the airport for a rental, which is a hassle.
So it is interesting to see how this newest option works. So far, I am optimistic. The biggest difference is that this new option relies on electric vehicles. I know some of you have been using electric vehicles for a while, but I have to say there's nothing quite like the direct experience to appreciate some of the differences. I don't love the particular vehicles for this carshare (Chevy Bolts). But I DO deeply appreciate the fact that with this carshare, there isn't an extra step of driving to a gas station and monitoring the gas tank level. That's not to say electric cars are worry-free; S has noticed some issues with keeping the cars charged, especially during the recent cold spell.
But really, the whole experience has me extra aware that one of my biggest issues with most motor vehicles is a strong dislike of combustion engines: noisy, smelly, polluting, greasy, etc.
This new option is very clearly subsidized, so we'll see how long it lasts. For now, we'll make the most of it.
2. A busy day for Meal Prep Sunday, and it isn't over yet. For the morning, I made pancakes, granola bars, a batch of muesli, and bread dough. Fairly soon here I'll mix up a batch of broccoli-chickpea burritos, and a batch of braised black lentils.
This past week I ate emergency insta-dinners in my office twice, and got home late basically every single day.
Hopefully this week won't be quite so bad, but if I'm being honest, I'm not optimistic. This is looking like an intense semester.
At least it might be a bit warmer this week. Here's how I dressed for the -14 degree (F) overnight this past Friday:
While this outfit makes it possible to commute safely and relatively comfortably in subzero temps, getting geared up is extra work, and the ski goggles tend to fog. Commuting at temperatures above 10 degrees F is much more pleasant.
1. Historically, S has been going swimming at the nearby Jewish Community Center. However, their pool recently failed to pass its inspection. Apparently this typically means the pool has cracks and is leaking water, which, if left unaddressed, can turn into a sinkhole beneath the pool that will then suck in any hapless swimmers when the concrete fails utterly. So the JCC is now fundraising for repairs, which are likely to cost bajillions of dollars and will take a while to realize. That's sent S back on the hunt for places to swim.
More historically than S's swimming history here, there were a couple of public swimming options in or near downtown Albany. One was a facility called The Bathhouse; I learned recently that there was a period where the rowing club held its winter training at The Bathhouse. One of the rowers who participated then said that it was possible to look down through some cracks in the floor where the ergs were stationed, and see the pool below.
The Bathhouse apparently closed a couple of years before we moved to Albany. At some point someone stole all of the deranged copper plumbing from it, because copper is valuable.
The other option had been a branch of the YMCA located in north Albany. It closed about 6 months after we moved to Albany, and got converted into recreation space for a middle school.
So the next-closest option for S is a YMCA in one of the suburban villages to the south of Albany. Basically, public pool access in Albany is terrible. The issue with the location to the south is the neverending one of transportation. It's possible to reach this branch of the Y by a combination of bus and walking, but it sounds like the expedition winds up requiring somewhere around 4-5 hours in total, just given the limited bus schedule. That's a large time commitment.
So instead S looked into a recent carshare option that has opened up here.
We've tried so many different car rental things over the years. I remember some particularly stressful occasions trying to use an hourly car rental program in Texas, where the provided gas card in the vehicle didn't work at the gas station and I don't think I ever got that extra gas money back. I mean, for the most part when I want to use a car out here, I wind up traveling out to the airport for a rental, which is a hassle.
So it is interesting to see how this newest option works. So far, I am optimistic. The biggest difference is that this new option relies on electric vehicles. I know some of you have been using electric vehicles for a while, but I have to say there's nothing quite like the direct experience to appreciate some of the differences. I don't love the particular vehicles for this carshare (Chevy Bolts). But I DO deeply appreciate the fact that with this carshare, there isn't an extra step of driving to a gas station and monitoring the gas tank level. That's not to say electric cars are worry-free; S has noticed some issues with keeping the cars charged, especially during the recent cold spell.
But really, the whole experience has me extra aware that one of my biggest issues with most motor vehicles is a strong dislike of combustion engines: noisy, smelly, polluting, greasy, etc.
This new option is very clearly subsidized, so we'll see how long it lasts. For now, we'll make the most of it.
2. A busy day for Meal Prep Sunday, and it isn't over yet. For the morning, I made pancakes, granola bars, a batch of muesli, and bread dough. Fairly soon here I'll mix up a batch of broccoli-chickpea burritos, and a batch of braised black lentils.
This past week I ate emergency insta-dinners in my office twice, and got home late basically every single day.
Hopefully this week won't be quite so bad, but if I'm being honest, I'm not optimistic. This is looking like an intense semester.
At least it might be a bit warmer this week. Here's how I dressed for the -14 degree (F) overnight this past Friday:
While this outfit makes it possible to commute safely and relatively comfortably in subzero temps, getting geared up is extra work, and the ski goggles tend to fog. Commuting at temperatures above 10 degrees F is much more pleasant.
